Patient Story: Quitting Smoking for COPD

What would it take for you to quit smoking? For Marshall Swanson, just battling COPD symptoms wasn't enough, at least at first.

Smokers and former smokers agree: It might take several attempts
at quitting before you succeed. But each time, you learn a little more about
what it will take to quit smoking for good. Perhaps you need nicotine
replacement therapy or a change in habits, or it could take a diagnosis of
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to keep you away from cigarettes.
For many people living with COPD, the goal to quit smoking is a crucial step
toward slowing lung damage.

COPD
and Smoking: A Strong Link

Quitting smoking is one of the few steps you can take to actually
improve the health of your lungs with COPD.
People seeking to quit seem to have the best shot at success with a
combination of medication and counseling, according to a study published in
Clinicoeconomic Outcomes Research.

However, just knowing the facts about COPD and smoking isn't
always enough to persuade a smoker to quit. Sometimes it takes a loud wake-up
call.

Marshall’s
Story

For Marshall Swanson of Mosinee, Wis., the decision to quit
smoking followed a heart attack and stent surgery to open arteries. His heart
attack occurred two years after being diagnosed with COPD and learning that his
shortness of breath wasn’t simply due to his smoking habit. He did attempt to
quit smoking when he found out he had COPD, but he was unsuccessful. When his heart
attack hit, he was still smoking two and a half packs a day.

“I tried to quit many, many times over the years," Swanson
says. "I was always cheating and sneaking
a cigarette here and there." Nothing stuck until he had his heart attack.
"That was the day I quit smoking for good,” he says.

Swanson began smoking as a teen, but only socially at first. It
wasn’t until he became a long-distance trucker, hauling potatoes and paper from
Wisconsin to Florida or California, that he got hooked.

“There’s really nothing else to do while you’re driving,” he says.
“I would chew a stick of gum or drink a cup of coffee to get the taste out of
my mouth, and then light up another cigarette.”

“I hear stories that break my heart,” he says. But he also knows
there are no easy answers and that his own personal strategy to quit smoking —
to make up your mind and just do it — isn’t the best approach for everyone.
Swanson did gain 45 pounds when he quit, but he later lost the excess weight
through healthy eating.

It's important to remember, he says, that COPD and smoking are strongly
linked and that quitting smoking can improve COPD symptoms as well as your
overall health. “My heart is in great shape now,” he says. Quitting smoking is also
required to enter pulmonary rehab programs, which are valuable for learning how
to live more comfortably with COPD.

Quit
Smoking: Finding What Works for You

In some ways, successful smoking cessation is like piecing
together a puzzle, says Paul Doering, MS, an emeritus professor in the department
of pharmacotherapy and translational research at the University of Florida in
Gainesville, who's written pharmacy textbook chapters on substances of abuse,
including tobacco.

Doering says that pharmacists can be an excellent resource for
people who want to quit and are generally willing to make an appointment to sit
down and talk about the medication options available for smoking cessation,
especially nicotine replacement therapies such as gum or patches and
prescription medications such as varenicline.

But, he says, a successful quit strategy means finding out what
will motivate the particular person to quit and also finding out what
behavioral changes are needed.

A small research study involving 10 people with COPD and published
in the journal Tobacco Induced Diseases in 2012 reported
that understanding and finding ways to overcome obstacles in people's battle
with quitting smoking is key to their success. It's important to articulate
your motivation and then put a quit-smoking plan into effect.

As an example, says Doering, wanting to be actively involved as
your grandchildren grow up could be a motivator for one person, while the
desire to avoid a heart attack or COPD symptoms might be the reason for someone
else.

Identifying behaviors to change is another piece of the puzzle, he
says. Think about why you reach for a cigarette at certain times and then develop
alternative strategies for those moments. For example, if you tend to smoke
when you feel stressed, learn deep-breathing techniques to use instead when you
start to feel anxious.

One of the most challenging changes may involve friends and family
members who smoke. You might need to ask them not to smoke around you if you really
want to quit.

Swanson says he's lost two siblings to smoking-related illnesses,
and his younger sister, now in her 60s, still smokes. But he remains smoke-free,
noting that while the first whiff of a freshly lit cigarette is momentarily appealing,
he now quickly becomes turned off by cigarette smoke.

There’s no doubt that quitting smoking is tough, but the rewards
are far worth the effort, especially when you’re living with COPD. You’ll
improve COPD symptoms — and gain a big boost in confidence as well.
If you’re ready to quit, talk to your doctor or pharmacist, or call the COPD
Foundation Information Line (866-316-COPD).

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